This invention relates to an automatic coffee maker, and in particular to an automatic coffee maker which includes an insulated pressure dispensing container for the brewed coffee.
Coffee makers of the type which produce a predetermined amount of hot water and flow it through a porous filter containing ground coffee to produce brewed coffee are well known in the prior art. However, the prior art coffee makers have several shortcomings which make them less than ideal for home use where the brewed coffee will be consumed in small amounts over a relatively long time span and thus must be kept warm for extended periods.
Since this type of device uses gravity to cause the water to flow through the ground coffee and into the container, the container generally is open topped thereby preventing it from being effectively thermally insulated. Therefore, the coffee maker generally is provided with a hot plate on which the container sits in order to maintain the temperature of the brewed coffee. Due to the fact that the container is heated by a hot plate, it generally is not feasible to provide an insulated container and so the problem of maintaining the temperature of the brewed coffee is amplified.
Not only is heating in this manner inefficient from an energy point of view, a continuously operating hot plate is not desirable in a home setting. Firstly, it is a potential source of minor burns, particularly when young children are in the house, secondly it is a potential fire hazard in the event that combustible materials are inadvertently placed near it and third if a hot plate is left on after the container has been substantially emptied it can cause considerable damage to the container.
The subject invention overcomes the foregoing disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art coffee makers by providing a container having a pnaumatically sealed and thermally insulated storage vessel located within it. The opening at the top of the vessel is sealed with a removable stopper at its upper end and the entire container is covered by a pivotally attached lid. Located within the lid is an air pump which is interconnected with an air supply tube which passes through the stopper into the vessel.
Located in the lid is a reservoir which is arranged to receive the brewed coffee from a conventional brewing apparatus and which also is interconnected with the supply tube. A check valve in the passageway prevents pressurized air from the air pump from escaping through the passageway out of the reservoir and thus ensures that it is passed into the vessel. The brewed coffee is dispensed from the container by a spout which extends upwardly from near the bottom of the vessel and exits from the container near its upper end.
Indexing means are provided in the brewing apparatus so that when the container is placed in the brewing apparatus it is properly aligned so that coffee passing through the filter is deposited into the reservoir in the lid of the container.
Thus even though the container is insulated and sealed, so that heat loss is greatly minimized, the brewed coffee is dispensed from the coffee brewing apparatus directly into the container without the need to manually remove a lid from the container or otherwise open it. Likewise, the coffee can be dispensed from the container merely by actuating the air pump without the necessity of opening the container or of undertaking any manual manipulations to it.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a coffee maker wherein the brewed coffee is automatically dispensed into a thermally insulated container which is pneumatically sealed to allow dispensing of the brewed coffee by means of an air pump.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a coffee maker wherein it is not necessary to prepare the container prior to or subsequent to its being filled with brewed coffee.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a device wherein the container can be removed from the remainder of the coffee brewer for remote serving and cleaning.
The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.